They argue that the moment of organising at the continental level should not be wasted today, considering that the model of national parties forming fragile alliances in the European Parliament is obsolete and that a pan-European movement is necessary to confront the great economic, political and social crisis that Europe is going through. In its analysis, the movement considers that this crisis threatens to disintegrate Europe and has characteristics that are similar to the Great Depression experienced in the 1930s.[5]

The acronym DiEM refers to the Roman carpe diem. To highlight the urgency of democratising Europe before reaching a point of no return, the movement sets the horizon for the year 2025 to draft a democratic constitution that will replace all the European treaties that are in force today. One year after its foundation, DiEM25 declared that it had over 60,000 members from across the European Union.[1]

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DiEM25 seeks to create a more democratic Europe. They see the European Union becoming a technocraticsuperstate ruled by edict and aim to make Europe a union of people governed by democratic consent. DiEM25 cites eight distinct elements of European governance by compulsion, the first of which is "hit-squad inspectorates and the Troika they formed together with unelected ‘technocrats’ from other international and European institutions".[4]

DiEM25 would like to act as an umbrella organization, gathering left-wing parties, grassroots protest movements and "rebel regions" to develop a common response to the five crises Europe faces today: debt, banking, poverty, low investment and migration.[15] Further, DiEM25 wishes to reform EU institutions, originally designed to serve industry, so that they become fully transparent and responsive to European citizens. Ultimately, DiEM25 envisions European citizens writing a democratic constitution for the European Union.

DiEM25 seeks to avert European fracture. They cite emerging extremist nationalism, and so-called Brexit and Grexit as splintering Europe. In the lead up to the Brexit referendum, DiEM25 co-founder Yanis Varoufakis worked with British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to support Britain's stay in the European Union. Varoufakis cited the special concessions [16] granted by the European Union to the United Kingdom in February 2016 as evidence of European disintegration.[17]

DiEM25 seeks to form the first transnational political party, and in May 2017 began discussing running such a party in the 2019 European Parliament election.[18] Varoufakis stated that in some countries it would cooperate with national parties that agree with the DiEM25 agenda, such as Razem in Poland or The Alternative in Denmark, while in others it might decide to run separately from any existing parties.[19]

DiEM25 supports the petition "Transparency in Europe now!", requesting the live broadcasting of the meetings of major European institutions, a comprehensive list of all Brussels lobbyists and the electronic publication of all TTIP negotiating documents.[20]

DiEM25 is led by a Coordinating Collective composed of 12 individuals and overseen by an Advisory Board of well known personalities. On the local level, DiEM25 is represented by the DiEM Spontaneous Collectives (DSCs). The project is funded by crowdfunding.[21]

The Coordinating Collective has several missions, including coordinating the various activities or naming the sub-coordinators. It is composed of twelve members (who can not be simultaneously members of another political party, ministers or parliamentarians still in office) and who meet once a week. Half of the CC's seats are renewed every six months by an electronic vote of all members of DiEM25.

The Advisory Board is made up of well-known personalities from different backgrounds (artistic, political and academic) who are recognised for their expertise in their field. They are intended to advise the DiEM25 on the various decisions to be taken and are elected jointly by the Coordinating Collective and the Validation Council.

The Validation Council (or VC) is responsible for monitoring the good conduct of all members of the DiEM25, making decisions when a choice has to be made urgently and time is lacking to organise a digital referendum and to validate the proposals made by the Coordinating Collective. It is made up of 100 members, anyone can apply and the selection is made by drawing lots. Like the Coordinating Collective, half of the VC's seats are renewed every six months.

The DSCs or Spontaneous Collectives of DiEM25 are self-managed groups, meeting face-to-face or online, composed of members of the DiEM25 according to their affinities and their origin (most are therefore municipal, regional or national committees).

The launch of the initiative was widely covered by the international press. The leading European media reflected in their reports the following days both the potential of the movement as the major contradictions it faces. Varoufakis was asked by the press about the relationship between his initiative and the proposals that exist on the part of other leaders of the European left to confront and to handle the so-called "crisis of neoliberalism", namely the position of Oskar Lafontaine in Germany and Jean-Luc Mélenchon in France, for a recovery of sovereignty and a return to national currencies, abandoning the euro. On this point, which is arguably the most contentious due to the confrontation of opposing positions within the European left, Varoufakis responded in a clear and unequivocal way, rejecting this proposal. On the contrary, the emphasis of its movement would be on the repolitisation of Europe as a unit and on the democratisation of its institutions as a way of dealing with tendencies of separation, fragmentation, competition and isolation.[22]

In an article entitled "Varoufakis' kleine Internationale gegen Kapitalismus" (Varoufakis' small International against capitalism), the conservative German newspaper Die Welt suggested that Varoufakis' proposals "would shatter Europe apart rather than cure it". In its note on the launching of DiEM25, the paper suggests that this initiative was a product of Varoufakis being "embittered" by the rejection of his ideas. According to the article, Varoufakis could not have been able to accept that his colleagues had not wanted to follow him and—since he had not been able to impose himself at the national level—he would have concluded that he needed international alliances. While in Hungary or Poland the conservative sectors are betting on emancipation, Varoufakis would be trying to form an alliance all across Europe to defend left-wing politics.[23]